Feb. 28, 2008

Three things come to mind when discussing the 2008 Johns Hopkins baseball team: depth, expectations and business. Entering his 29th season on the bench, head coach Bob Babb welcomes back one of the deepest rosters during his time at Hopkins. The Blue Jays lost five players to graduation, but welcome back most of last year's roster and several players who saw little to no time due to injury. Expectations are high and those feelings run from the head coach down to the players. Hopkins fell just one game shy of a trip to the College World Series last year and had its sights set on the program's second trip to the Collge World Series this season.

"We have a large number of returnees this season and we hope we are good enough to win a national title, but we understand that we have to take care of business first and that starts with defending our Centennial Conference title," said Babb.

PITCHING
One of the strengths of this year's squad will be pitching. Babb welcomes back his entire staff from last year and adds several players who were injured last year or impressed at the JV level. "I believe this year's pitching staff provides us with the most depth and experience in my time at JHU," said the Blue Jay leader.

Part of Babb's optimism lies in his eight seniors on the staff, including starters Ryan Kuhlman and Joe Zaccaria. Kuhlman was a First Team ABCA Mid-Atlantic All Region selection and a Second Team All-Centennial pick after finishing the year at 9-1 with a 3.17 ERA in 11 starts. Zaccaria went 7-5 with a 4.64 ERA in 13 starts and four complete games despite pitching most of the season with a torn ACL. "Ryan is a pitcher we count on to set the tone at the top of the rotation and we count on him to step up in big-game situations; while Joe was dominating for us last year despite the injury, and we expect him to be even more effective this season being healthy," remarked Babb.

Pat Steffee did a little bit of everything for the Blue Jay staff last year making 10 appearances including six starts while also providing long and short relief. "Pat is a great person to have because he does whatever we ask of him and does it well," Babb noted.

Brian Duddie and junior Chez Angeloni also figure into the Blue Jays' starting rotation this season. Both players pitched through injuries last season and Babb believes that if healthy they could be even more effective than last year. Duddie should see time as a starter, but could also come out of the bullpen. Angeloni looks to be fully recovered from his injury last season and was dominating in the fall.

Junior Dave Fioretti, who was projected as the number two starter last season, returns after missing nearly all of 2007 and could give the Blue Jays quality innings with his 90+ mph fastball.

A group of four seniors will headline the Blue Jay bullpen in 2008. Greg Gotimer and Ryan Kealy were two of the most dependable pitchers last year for the Blue Jays. Gotimer finished with the best ERA on the team at 1.32 in 12 appearances. Kealy picked up two wins last year in 15 appearances, including one in the Centennial Conference Tournament. Paul Martone, who was one of Hopkins' most dependable relievers in 2006, returns after missing all of last season due to injury. Nick Erardi also will factor into the Blue Jay bullpen plans.

Also figuring into the pitching plans for Hopkins are juniors Pete Smith, Matt Goldman, Dan Schiffner, Henry Striegl, Tim Sullivan and Harrison Taylor. This entire group has shown the coaching staff they are ready to add quality innings.

Sophomore Greg Harbeck was 5-0 in eight appearances last season and should continue to contribute to the Blue Jays' success. Fellow sophomore Marco Simmons came on late last season and should be a key cog in the bullpen. Sophomores Andrew Pevsner and Matt Wiegand should also find time in the rotation.

CATCHERS
Behind the plate, the Blue Jays will have to replace Third Team All-American Rob Sanzillo. Sanzillo, the Centennial Conference Player of the Year last season, will be a challenge to replace, concedes Babb. However, he does have two players ready to fight for that spot in senior Tony Margve and sophomore Joe Borrelli. Margve was Sanzillo's back up last season, playing in 10 games behind the dish. He also saw time as the DH, hitting .321 with five homeruns last year. Margve also led the Blue Jays and the Centennial Conference in fielding percentage at 1.000. Borrelli saw action in 16 games and hit .438. "I believe both Tony and Joe can contribute to our line-up and both should see a lot of playing time this season," said Babb.

The third catcher duties will fall to sophomore John Swarr, who proved to be a solid defensive catcher with his play in the fall.

INFIELD
A senior laden infield will hopefully spearhead the success of the Blue Jays this season. On the left side of the infield Babb returns Jonas Fester at shortstop and Todd Emr at third base. The pair makes up two-thirds of the captain trio for the Blue Jays this season.

Fester was a First Team All-American last year and earned numerous honors after a break-out junior season. He posted career-highs in nearly every offensive category last year and tied the NCAA single-season record for doubles with 27. Coming off a great summer and fall of baseball, Babb expects his senior leader to get off to a hot start and put up big numbers. "Jonas brings the complete package with his glove, bat and ability to run the bases, and we need him to help set the tone this year," remarked Babb.

Emr was off to a torrid start last year, batting .529 in the first five games before a broken arm in Arizona caused him to miss the rest of the season. "Todd is a pure hitter with great hands who we missed last year. We are looking to him for great things this season," said Babb.

Senior Nate Adelman, who could see time at three of the four infield positions, will most likely start the season with the starting job at second base. Babb said, "Nate handles the bat well and gives us a solid defensive option out there."

Matt Benchener returns for his senior season at first base. Babb believes Benchener has a lot of ability and expects a big senior campaign out of him.

Also factoring into the infield mix should be sophomores Lee Bolyard and Tim Rappazzo. Bolyard was a Second Team All-Centennial selection as a freshman, while filling in for Emr at third base. He hit .342 in 38 games last season. Rappazzo brings a very strong all-round game and had a solid fall season.

Pushing Benchener for time at first base will be junior Dave Garber and freshman Jesse Sikorski. Garber hit .360 in 21 games last season, while Sikorski showed great power and potential during the fall. Sophomore Chris Huisman and junior Ryan Biner should also see time in the infield for Hopkins.

OUTFIELD The Blue Jays return two of three starters in the outfield this season, both of whom were First Team All-Centennial selections last year. Senior Rob Pietroforte, the other third of the captain trio, returns in centerfield. He had a strong summer and fall and Babb believes he could produce his best season yet. Senior Jon Solomon returns in left field and earned all-conference honors last year despite missing part of the year due to injury. Healthy, he adds another dimension of speed and power to the lineup.

In right field, Babb has some options to choose from. Brian Youchak was the projected starter last season before an injury in February cost him the year. The coaching staff believes Youchak to be the fastest player on the team and also brings a power option with him. Seniors Nick Venezia and Isaac Katz both saw time in the outfield last year and could factor into the mix again this year. Junior Kris Standish had the best fall season of all the JHU hitters and could be ready to jump into the mix. Sophomore Brendan Walsh is coming off an injury in fall, but showed his power when he got a chance last season. Fellow sophomore Dave Kahn could also see time in the outfield for the Blue Jays. Junior Dan Merzel is the Blue Jays' utility man and could see time in the outfield, infield or as an emergency catcher.

SCHEDULE Once again Babb will push the Blue Jays to test their abilities with the schedule this season. The Blue Jays are due to open their season on March 1 by hosting Rutgers-Newark. On March 10, York College of Pennsylvania, an NCAA tournament participant last year, comes to Baltimore. Hopkins' spring trip will take the team to Arizona for 11 games. While out west, Hopkins will tangle with three teams ranked in the top 30 in the preseason poll, including Cortland State who is ranked #1 in the NCBWA-D3baseball.com Preseason Poll. On that trip, the team will face five teams that participated in the NCAA Tournament last year. Upon returning from Arizona, the Blue Jays will immediately jump into a tough Centennial Conference schedule. Games with 2007 NCAA particpants Salisbury and the College of New Jersey and perennial power Montclair State round out the slate.